Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Today, I learned from a @Novartis tweet that yet another celebrity is teaming up with a pharmaceutical company to leverage "social media" for marketing purposes. The celebrity is singer and LGBT rights activist Cyndi Lauper, who admits she she has "moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO)."

Lauper is featured on the "THAT's PsO ME" website hosted by Novartis in conjunction with the National Psoriasis Foundation.

Novartis recently won approval from FDA to market Cosentyx (secukinumab) for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adult patients.

In a PEOPLE magazine article published yesterday, Lauper reminds us that "It's not just a rash. It's a disease" -- a statement straight out of the pharma marketer's playbook.

Of course, like many other aged celebrities hired by pharma (e.g., Monica Seles admitted she suffered from binge eating disorder for many years; she too came out in PEOPLE magazine after signed on with a pharma company; read more about that here), Lauper suffered from her condition in secret for many years before being paid by pharma to come out in the open. "You don't have to suffer in silence or live in pain," says Lauper after doing just that for years.

Not only is Lauper shilling for pharma in PEOPLE magazine, she also "joined" the THAT's PsO ME "community." What's that all about?

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

GSK's Big Bad Cough multimedia campaign focuses on a grandma putting her baby grandchild in range of catching whooping cough from her: "Understand the Danger Your New Grandchild Faces." The print ad shown here appeared in a recent Parade magazine insert in my Sunday paper. You can also view the TV Ad here)if it still available online.

According to GSK's PR/marketing earned media machine: "Adults have historically low vaccination rates. For Tdap, the combined diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine for grown-ups, only 17% of adults over age 19 are up-to-date, according to recent CDC data. GSK said grandparent vaccination rates are even lower, coming in at below 10%. Adults are the most common carriers or "spreaders" of pertussis to infants, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases" (see here).

The takeaway message is that grandparents are that danger. But, there's something you should know.

Friday, July 10, 2015

According to data compiled by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the pharmaceutical industry has increased its financial support of CME in 2014 compared to 2013. This is the first time in seven years that Pharma's support has increased.

In the chart below, I plotted the Growth vs. Decline of Pharma CME Support from 1999 through 2014. I include monies paid for advertising and exhibits at CME events and assume 100% of this activity comes from manufacturers (drugs and devices). Based on this, the drug and device industry support for CME has increased by about 3% in 2014 vs. 2013 ($1.031 Bn vs. $1.00 Bn).

Click on image for an enlarged view.

Even though the data suggest that pharma's support of CME took a nose dive from 2008 through 2012, CME income from "other" sources took up the slack and then some beginning around 2010-2011. Total CME income increased 13.6% from 2011 through 2014, whereas drug industry support dropped about 3% during that time.

About the Author

Pharmaguy™ (@pharmaguy) is a "constructive critic" of the pharmaceutical industry. He is not shy about giving his opinion, which is respected by many insiders who share some of his views but who are unable to voice them on their own.